Last night I got a flat tire reported by the TPMS system rapidly losing pressure in the driver side front tire. At this point the TPMS system was working properly.

After putting in a spare tire to replace the flat, however, I got the TPMS malfunction error with the readings for all corners as "--."

I understand this as a result of losing one sensor (by putting in the spare which doesn't have a TPMS sensor in it), and it seems that when one TPMS sensor is lost the whole system stops working.

I just hope that when I put back the original tire/wheel with the TPMS sensor it would come back to normal. There has to be a way to reset the TPMS system. I wonder if it works in the same way to reset the oil change indicator.

Just to report my experience, as a quick search on "TPMS malfunction" revealed much confusion and little definitive answer.

 

Should be fine after you replace the flat and drive a short distance. Don't worry.

 

If the flat is stored in the trunk (within transmission range), the system should display the main low pressure light but extinguish the specific tire light. This is to prevent the driver from thinking something is wrong with the spare.

That is correct. The system can't tell the difference between a flat that has been taken out of transmission range and a pressure sender whose battery has died, so it lights the TPMS fault light to alert you that there is a problem. (It stores a code to identify the specific problem.)

Reinstalling the original sender should restore operation immediately. If you install a new sender, it will be recognized after a short drive.

 

Thanks for the info.

The flat is indeed stored in the trunk, but I didn't notice the difference between the main pressure light and the specific tire light.

What I see now when I turn on the key is "TPMS Error" in the main screen and then left orange warning light (the one with ! inside) comes on and the right orange warning light (the one looks like a tire with ! inside) blinks.

As to the destroyed tire I'm not so sure whether to replace it with another Michelin Pilot MXM4 (the OEM model) or buy a new set of tires. If the latter I'm thinking Birdgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia. Anyone have experience with this tire?

 

Update
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Installed today a set of Bridgestone Dueller H/L 422 Ecopia and the TPMS error is gone as predicted by Mr Marco and 737 Jock. Thanks for your help.

Haven't driven much on those new tires yet, but they are so much quieter compared to the OEM Michellin Pilots I had.